Michigan County Denies Planned Parenthood Abstinence Ed Grant

A county in Michigan has denied a $12,000 grant to Planned Parenthood. Ironically, the local affiliate of the nation’s biggest abortion business claimed it wanted to teach abstinence education to young people.

Grand Traverse County Commissioners denied Planned Parenthood’s application for the taxpayer-financed grant to pay for abstinence-based sex education in area schools. The local Traverse City newspaper has additional details.

Commissioner Jason Gillman rallied other commissioners against the grant application. Gillman said he couldn’t support providing any type of aid to Planned Parenthood of West and Northern Michigan, regardless of the program.

“The organization is designed to kill babies,” Gillman said. “The nicer side of it is only there to mask its evil intent. That is to kill babies.”

Planned Parenthood has received taxpayer-funded grants from the local government in the past but tried to play down the decision, calling it not a big deal.

Planned Parenthood officials called it a “non-story” for them and said in a statement that Traverse City officials agreed to pass on its grant application.

The county has passed through Planned Parenthood applications since at least 2009. This year the board decided to begin passing on any nonprofit application that it’s legal counsel determined qualified as a legitimate county service.

Planned Parenthood’s application qualified, board Chairman Larry Inman said. But following its poor reception at a committee meeting this month, he advised Planned Parenthood to find a new sponsor.

“Because it’s an organization that supports abortions, so we didn’t want to support them,” Inman said. “I just think it might be better for them to avoid the whole thing and send it through the city commission.”

A motion by Commissioner Ross Richardson at the board’s Dec. 26 meeting to restore the Planned Parenthood grant application received no support.

The vote came despite support at the meeting from City Commissioner Jim Carruthers, a volunteer for Planned Parenthood and a local official voters may want to consider retiring in the next election. He thinks the city’s manager’s office will eventually approve the grant.